I’m going to study abroad in Paris for the fall of 2011, but if you’re reading this, you probably already know that! … I don’t leave until August 24^th, but I’ll be spending a lot of time thinking about the trip and prepping for it this summer, soooo, these are my thoughts! I’ll have a few posts before leaving in August, mainly about the interesting things I find in relation to Paris.

I work at the Center for the Study of Languages Computer Lab at Rice, and our office manager suggested this great site called Paris 26 Gigapixels. It’s basically one very large image made up of about 2300 smaller pictures, and it gives you a great view of Paris. You can even see street names when you zoom in! I thought it was pretty cool. But for those of you who know me, looking at a picture map won’t prevent me from getting lost while I’m there, so I’m just settling on looking at the prettiness of the city on the site and getting to know the monuments. 

Thinking about leaving in a little over 3 months is a little nerve-wracking – mainly because I’ll miss my family and friends – but hey, everyone’s been saying it’ll be really fun. Lately when I think of Paris, I think of Corrine Bailey Rae’s song “Paris Nights / New York Mornings.” My roommate this past year mentioned the song to me over last summer:

Aside from loving Corinne Bailey Rae and getting my blog title from her video, this song is so light, peaceful, whimsical, nostalgic, and adventurous — all in one. I hope that Paris is that way. I’ve seen Paris everywhere but there, so it’s not that I have expectations, but I have this picture of how it might be. Visualizing the whole experience is a little overwhelming at this point, with technical things like visas taking up my time, but I feel like after that’s all done, I’ll get off the plane in August, take a deep breath, and say, “Whew, I’m finally here.”

I have an even better idea of what to expect after having a great time talking with one of my high school French teachers about Paris over lunch after I got back from school. She told me, “Anything you want to know about Paris, I know it, so just ask me and I’ll help you out.” She really does know EVERY thing about it, and it’s awesome! She doesn’t know how much she’s put my mind at ease about the trip. We talked for hours, me just asking her questions about Paris and her time there. After that conversation, I’m anticipating some amazing times! Can’t. Wait.